Mary Wilson thanks Bills fans for their “outpouring of love” for Ralph Wilson

Posted by Mike Florio on April 5, 2014, 4:59 PM EST

AP

On Saturday, Bills fans celebrated the life of Ralph Wilson, Jr., the only owner in team history. His widow has issued a statement thanking the fans for their support.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank Bills fans and people everywhere for their tremendous outpouring of love for Ralph,” Mary Wilson said in a statement issued by the team. “Their heartfelt condolences and warm wishes have truly been a comfort for me, Ralph’s daughters Christy and Dee Dee, Mary Owen, and the entire Wilson family during this difficult time.

“Ralph loved his life and he had a great full life that touched so many people in a variety of ways. He loved his family and his many friends. He loved his Buffalo Bills and he loved the fans. Before he passed, he told me that he wanted people to celebrate his life after he was gone. He wasn’t big on tears. And so that’s why we are referring to events such as the one today as ‘celebrating’ the life of Ralph Wilson.

“This man accomplished so many things during his time and most of them have been well documented in the past couple of weeks. But the one thing that everyone has mentioned in their kind words was his sense of humor and that certainly was one of his most endearing qualities. Ralph most likely would have offered a funny quip about today’s event. But at the same time, he would have been profoundly touched by the fans outpouring of emotion.”

No, Bills fans, the statement contains no hints about Mary Wilson’s plans for the team. She’ll undoubtedly sell, probably soon. But she has yet to address the critical question of whether she’ll ensure the franchise is sold to a person or group that will keep the franchise in Buffalo for decades to come.

The story yesterday suggesting the team will be sold by October clearly indicates a deal is already lined up. If so then Mary Wilson likely Iegally cannot share any information hinting one way or the other. Signs of a deal this early when it’s a know fact that the team can’t leave for 6 years indicates it’s a buyer committed to keeping them local. Let’s hope so.

My Uncle Frank Hastings was always one of my very favorite people. He and his family were from Buffalo and I loved visiting him and Aunt Blanche, and having them visit our home in PA. The nay sayers are also nay knowers!

I doubt very much that Buffalo is going anywhere-the state and local officials (including Governor Cuomo) simply won’t let this happen. And the Bills can also count on Roger Goddell (NFL commissioner) to do everything possible –Goddell grew up near Hamburg, Western NY and knows first hand the passion the area has for this team

Jax, Stl or Oak would be the most logical teams who would moved to LA. But why put a team out there? Even when the Rams and Raided were winners nobody went. Host a few Super Bowl, but forget about a team. People of LA historically don’t care.

As percentage of revenue a nfl receives, tickets, suites, etc. is relatively small. TV is the big revenue. It matters little where the team plays. The bills should stay in Buffalo forever. Moving a team to LA is stupid, no stadium, previous teams left, only makes sense to move Oakland.

wny49er says:
Apr 5, 2014 10:15 PM
Jax, Stl or Oak would be the most logical teams who would moved to LA. But why put a team out there? Even when the Rams and Raided were winners nobody went. Host a few Super Bowl, but forget about a team. People of LA historically don’t care.
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LA didn’t support the Rams and Raiders? Really? The Raiders had plenty of support in LA. They had crowds of over 90,000 for many games. It was the city of LA that didn’t want to fund the construction of luxury suites that made Al Davis move the Raiders back to Oakland.